THE AMERICAN TABLE

The Story of a Sweet Breakfast Treat

he history of coffee cake is somewhat elusive, in part because adapting and simplifying. It seems that handwritten versions of this recipe were mainstays in many family recipe boxes. Later, in the mid-1950s, a simplified version of old-fashioned coffee cake was served in the cafeterias of the Los Angeles Unified School District. This recipe called for ingredients that were standard commodities in school kitchens: salad oil, buttermilk, and flour. Sour cream coffee cake, made with cake mix and dubbed “Sock It to Me Cake”—a pop culture reference to the television comedy hastened the arrival of hurry-up baking during the 1970s. After that, cookbook authors and food media returned to making homemade versions of the cake, improvising and adapting recipes according to their unique tastes and the ingredients on hand. During the COVID-19 pandemic, families dug deep into their archives to search for comforting family favorites, and these coffee cake recipes seem to be some of the most popular renditions that keep coming back.